A Plug-and-Play Duct System Evaluation
- IBACOS, Inc., Pittsburgh, PA (United States)
This report describes an air distribution system composed of a series of uniformly-sized ducts that terminate in rooms throughout the home and return to a central manifold, similar in fashion to a “home-run” cross-linked polyethylene plumbing system. With a well-designed manifold, each duct receives an equal static pressure potential for airflow from the air handling unit, and the number of needed ducts for each room are simply attached to fittings located on the manifold; in this sense, the system is plug-and-play (PnP). As indicated, all ducts in the PnP system are identical in size and small enough to fit in the ceiling and wall cavities of a house (i.e., less than 3.5-in. outer diameter). These ducts are also more appropriately sized for the lower airflow requirements of modern, energy-efficient homes; therefore, the velocity of the air moving through the duct is between that of conventional duct systems (approximately 700 ft/min) and high-velocity systems (more than 1,500 ft/min) on the market today. The PnP duct system uses semi-rigid plastic pipes, which have a smooth inner wall and are straightforward to install correctly, resulting in a system that has minimal air leakage. However, plastic ducts are currently not accepted by code for use in residential buildings; therefore, the project team considered other duct materials for the system that are currently accepted by code, such as small-diameter, wirehelix, flexible ductwork.
- Research Organization:
- IBACOS, Inc., Pittsburgh, PA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Energy Efficiency Office. Building Technologies Office
- Contributing Organization:
- National Renewable Energy Laboratory
- DOE Contract Number:
- EE0007058
- OSTI ID:
- 1371881
- Report Number(s):
- DOE-IBACOS-EE007058
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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